I, Valentino, Meow About Fear
Valentino, my cat, has been after me to do a guest post on Take Back Your Life. He’s one of the most fearless creatures I know. Thought you might enjoy his life philosophy. Please welcome him.
Hello humans!
Finally, Giulietta lets me speak. Now I can stop meowing into her ear 24/7.
Here’s my approach to life: I want to have a good time. We cats live way shorter life spans than most humans do so I don’t have a lot of time to waste on things I don’t care about.
- I eat.
- I nap.
- I play.
- I ambush Casanova (the other cat Giulietta brought home to keep me company).
- I lick my paws. (Don’t you love my paws.)
- I cuddle and kiss.
- I show my feelings.
- I arch my back and twirl around when I leap and I leap a lot
- I let out a combo purr/meow/laugh at least 15 times a day.
- I scratch the wall with my paws because I’m convinced there are animal ghosts in the walls of the old home I live in.
- I act eccentric and crazy.
- I climb up high.
- I jump from furniture piece to furniture piece.
- I sit on Giulietta’s lap when she writes because I love the hum of the computer.
- I meow my truth.
- I keep myself looking natty.
- I drink lots of water.
- I play with the mice Casanova catches.
- I go wherever I please.
- I stretch a lot.
- I NEVER GIVE UP. If I want to do something I keep at it for however long it takes.
- I investigate everything that catches my eye and that’s most everything.
- I hiss if someone oversteps my boundaries.
- I make my own rules.
- I growl at vets that treat me with disrespect.
- I ignore Giulietta when shes yells, “Valentino, get down from there.”
- I express gratitude every day for my fun-loving attitude.
The way my ancestors saw it (and I know some human named FDR pretended that he thought this up), the only thing we have to fear is fear itself.
I’ve noticed that the keepers of young humans often encourage them to be fearful. They want to keep them safe but doing so over and over can make it difficult for young humans to live their lives with gusto. As they get older, humans get attached to material things and ways of living they become fearful of losing. These new fears further escalate their existing fears until some humans only feel safe in a zombie-like state.
My mother brought me up to take chances, to be bold, to kick kitty ass. When I was just a kitten, she said, “Val, enough nursing, go find your own food and life.” And I did.
I got these two humans to take me into their home. They feed me. They love me. They do whatever I meow them to do. They don’t get all freaked out when I scratch up pretty pieces of furniture because it feels fun. They take me to this nice vet when I don’t feel well. Recently, they even let me do a painting with my paws. It was a pretty expressionist mural all over the laundry room. (I’m gonna do it again real soon, except bigger.)
If you want to stop being afraid, try some of my kitty being fearless hints.
- Try to get yelled at. Once you get over the sound of other folks yelling at you, it’s a snap to do your own thing.
- Do something new every day. Jump into your litter box from a new angle. Knock your water bowl over. Throw up on the NEW carpet. You get my feline drift.
- Consider taking Giulietta’s new fear busting series in Ashland next month if you’ve got a small business.
Wow Your Prospects. Three Steps to Fearless Marketing. (I helped her and her co-leader Kim Reddington make it more fun and fearless!). Click on the title for the details.
I’ll be back with more of my life philosophy in a few weeks. Great to knock whiskers with you. Please comment on what I said or ask me questions below. Although the keyboard Giulietta uses does not accommodate my large paws that well, I will try to respond to all of them.
Meow, Valentino
RSS
LOVE: “Try to get yelled at.”
I remember someone (Marney Makridakis, of Artella fame, to be exact) saying something (about business) like if you aren’t getting any complaints then you’re probably not reaching far enough – purrrrrrrrrrr (oh, wait – that’s Valentino’s line)
Hey SPK,
I like that quote. Yes, try to keep reaching! I do that with my jumping. I keep jumping higher and higher until I’m flying like a squirrel. Thanks! Will tell Giulietta to read your latest blog post. She’s very recipe averse.
Valentino
Ditto: I love “Try to get yelled at.” One step better–let the yelling be your cheering!
Also, love “Do something new everyday.” So many ways we can do do something new that might be interesting!
Thank you for the “guest” post!
Hey Harmony,
Got to start a kitty notebook here writing all these ideas down for my next post. Fab idea to get a yelling-cheering section. Music to my furry ears. Thanks for reading my post. It’s a purrfect example of “try something new.” Thx, Val.
Adorable!! I love the names of your cats.
Loved “I meow my truth.”
Hi Friend of G.!
I don’t know why humans have such a hard time meowing THEIR truth. Maybe I should teach a class?
Your new furry friend, Val.
Val –
I know the feeling about the big paws. You need to convince Giulietta to do the typing for you (this entry must have taken up a big portion of your, relatively, short feline lifetime). Try puking up mouse remains into her slippers. Humans understand what this means.
Best – J
Dear John,
I meowed into the phone once when you called MY home to speak to the folks I let live here. Great idea about the mouse remains. If it helps Giulietta become more fearless, I’m going to do it.
Val
p.s. I’m getting a claw manicure today to see if that helps with the keyboard issue I’m having.
Actually Val, I called to hear your oh-so-alluring meow. I only talk to your humans because you can’t pick up the receiver. See if you can convince them to get a speaker phone. Shred up a piece of favorite clothing, your humans will understand what this means.
– J
This was purr-fect!
Cats are wonderful models of how to live… meowing their truth; being exactly who they are – love them or not; meditating several times throughout the day; living balanced lives; and really doing it “their” way regardless…
What a fun and enlighten and enthusiastic post Val!!
Hey TE,
Finally, a human that truly appreciates my species!
I’m so glad you mentioned “meditating.” Just a handful of humans practice the “self-love art” we discovered thousands of years ago. I’d be a nervous wreck if I didn’t “center” myself every few hours with a nap.
Humans spend their days racing like a maniac from one activity to the other.
All I can say is slow down and smell the mouse hiding under the dishwasher …
Thanks for chatting with me today. (I’m really enjoying being a guest kitty blogger.)
Your nap-loving Val
Dude! See, you get it. You know what it’s all about. I remember when I was on my five-week walkabout behind your house. It was scary, but exhilarating, too.
I’ve had to learn how to have adventure without putting myself in so much danger. I’ve done a lot about trying to get yelled at more, and that seems to be working. Jumping up on the counters and the table seems to make the humans so upset! Sticking my face in the human’s milk glass is fun, too. Much more fun than dodging cars and sleeping in the cold.
Meow on, dude!
Frank!
A pleasure to finally connect with you.
Your walkabout is legendary in these parts! It takes feline guts to ignore, “here kitty kitty” and stay outside during the five coldest weeks of the year. Where did you sleep during the blizzard?
Stand your ground when you get up on the counter. Not sure why humans wants us off the surfaces they prepare and eat their food on. If they knew where their food came from …
Appreciate your comment. Think I’ll go snag some delish milk…
Valentino
Valentino, Loved knocking whiskers with you too. I agree that humans (at least in this country) tend to be overprotective of their young, thus creating fears that from what I have seen, may turn into semi or even full-blown paranoia in adults – encouraged by education, the media and politicians. This does not seem to be the case – at least far less so – in other countries where I’ve lived.
P.S. Valentino, I’m still blogging but whatever it is down below refuses to recognize me so you’ll just have to go to my website to find out what I have to say.
Glad to meet you Miss P.,
Good thoughts. Do we have a commercial fear-based industry here? Might be the reason humans are taught to fear everything, but shopping at malls. That is encouraged from a young age.
Will check out your post if Giulietta gets her OWN computer, finally. Thx, V.
Hi Giulietta,
Animals really have so much wisdom that we can tap into. They really are our spiritual teachers and know how to live. Absolutely loving Valentino’s tips. Yes, I think the fear of “getting yelled at” or “disapproval” from others is a big fear that can get in our way. Look forward to reading more from you and Valentino.
Hi Pamela,
Thank you for stopping by and leaving such a thoughtful comment. I’m glad you noticed that we animals have much to offer in the way of spirituality. I spend a lot of time living in the present, smelling the roses so to speak. Keeps my stress levels way down and life enjoyment way up. Off to do my hourly body stretch. Thx, Val
Valentino, you intrepid guy, you! Good for you for keeping after Giulietta until she let you guest post!
MAN, (erm…*cough*) CAT, you’ve got a great attitude. Or perhaps cattitude. The whole idea of trying to get yelled at? That’s pretty revolutionary for me. I may have to try that. (Other than being yelled at by one of my cats, that is. He sounds a lot like you. I think you’d get along famously.)
You especially made me chuckle with this: “Do something new every day. Jump into your litter box from a new angle. Knock your water bowl over. Throw up on the NEW carpet.”
On second thought, are you sure you don’t know my cat?
Anyway, great post, Val. I hope Giulietta does let you post more soon!
Hi Michelle!
Nice of you to swing by and leave me such a lengthy message. I may know your cat. Is his screen name Kittyman58? For a human, you’re pretty clever — cattitude? Genius. I may start a t-shirt line highlighting that phrase if you don’t mind me borrowing it. Giulietta got me a credit card, so now I’ve got my own line of credit to start the biz.
Thx, Val
p.s. Will do another post in late May